


To Realign a Star (for You)

by adreamofgallifrey, racheltuckerrr



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cat Grant knows Kara is Supergirl, F/F, Mon-Ew doesn't exist, Soft!Cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-11 19:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10471917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adreamofgallifrey/pseuds/adreamofgallifrey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/racheltuckerrr/pseuds/racheltuckerrr
Summary: When Kara admits her feelings to Cat, Cat does what she thinks is best for the both of them: she runs. Right back to Metropolis. And that's where she gets word that an alien attack against Earth is underway, one that requires Supergirl and another two fellow superheroes to go on a near suicide-mission with no guarantees of survival.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a not-so-serious conversation about Nashville by Taylor Swift (which you can listen to [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYSvaVUmZGk)). We'd planned on a slightly angsty one-shot, but then plot and suffering happened.
> 
> We hope you enjoy! Please tell us what you think. Also, you can find both of us on Tumblr @racheltuckerrr and @swift-ly.

Cat lets out a sigh, glad to be moving away from the city traffic at last. She stares out of the window at the other cars passing them by on the opposite lane, reduced to nothing but their headlights suspended in beams as the town car speeds down the highway. The moon is rising above the fiery hills of California, and Cat can make out the connections between some stars surrounding it.

She can picture lines in front of her eyes, connecting two or three of them, but can't make out an entire constellation. That has always been Carter's expertise. It also doesn't help that looking at the sights in the clear night sky serves to remind Cat of the woman who fell to her from between those very stars. The same woman she is now running from.

Cat suddenly finds herself feeling stifled by the tight space of the car, and rolls her window down. She massages her temples in an attempt to calm down the throbbing in her head, but to no avail. Her head falls back onto the backrest, and she replays everything that had happened in the past few days in her mind.

_It_ happened six weeks after Kara's promotion. After Kara had carried a one-million tonne spaceship out of the atmosphere by herself. Cat had gotten closer to the girl in those last six weeks. She’d convinced herself it was just to make sure her protégé was getting the hang of her new job. In truth, she just needed to reassure herself that Kara was still there, alive and well. Her previous heroics hadn't been as massive and dangerous as carrying Krypton's prison into orbit, and whenever she'd taken a close call, at least she was still Cat's assistant, always by her side.

But now Kara had been in a different office behind a closed door and four window-less walls, and that would not do. So Cat had slipped into a routine with Kara; they would have lunch together or stay behind after everyone else had gone home. Kara would show her whatever research she'd compiled for an article, or read out a draft, and Cat would offer some advice.

Soon enough, as things always have been between them, it wasn't just about work anymore. Kara had chipped further and further away at Cat's stoic façade, day by day. Their conversations had veered toward the more personal; Cat would speak of Carter's latest hobbies and schoolwork, while Kara would talk about Alex coming out, and how she and James hadn't worked out in the end. Cat had taken to calling her _darling_ when no-one was around to hear the softness in her voice, only reserved for Kara.

And as time went by, Cat had found herself touching her more and more often too. She'd fix Kara’s hair or collar when they didn't need fixing, or flick nonexistent lint off her cardigan, or put a hand on her forearm to steady herself as they laughed together by the edge of her 40th floor balcony. One night, four weeks into their newfound rhythm, Cat had even hugged her before they parted ways, much to the young hero's surprise. The hugs had become a part of their newfound rhythm after that.

That rhythm was pulled out of tune two days ago, when Kara had decided to come clean - about her identity and other things. They'd been sitting on the balcony after a long day, Cat sipping a glass of bourbon while Kara settled for her usual bowl of M&Ms.

"Cat," Kara had said, her voice timid and unlike herself.

"Hmm?"

"I, I've been thinking a lot lately and… there's something I must tell you." Cat had nodded slowly and motioned for her to proceed, well aware of what that _something_ was. When Kara hadn't continued, Cat noticed the nervousness written across her features. She'd taken the hero's hand in hers and said:

"Kara, darling. We both know that I know. What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not- that's not it. I was afraid before, yes. Afraid to lose my job, to lose you. After I… did _you-know-what_ to you, I was afraid you'd be disappointed…" Kara had trailed off, visibly pained at having to recall that particular memory. Cat had softened at seeing the guilt that had still haunted her.

"I'm not disappointed in you, Kara. I've never been prouder of you, in fact." Kara had smiled at that. "If not fear, then what is it?"

"It's just been so long, I don't know how to say it."

"Okay, let me help you then. Do you trust me?"

"Of course." Taking that as her cue, Cat had lifted her hands to Kara's glasses and slipped them off her nose. Then she'd tugged her hair loose and ran her hands through the locks until they sat in neat waves around Kara's face.

Emboldened by the intensity of the moment, Cat had placed her fingers above the first button of Kara's shirt and looked up, seeking permission. Startling blue eyes had met hers, with pupils blown and an expression that terrified her shining through.

Kara had given an almost imperceptible nod, and Cat freed the first few buttons of her shirt. The crest of the House of El had greeted her, the red material gleaming under the dim lights of the balcony.

"There you are," Cat had said, smiling. Kara had exhaled in relief and returned a smile of her own.

"Kara Zor-El. That's my name, Cat."

"Kara Zor-El. I like how it sounds." They had both smiled and held each other's gaze for a long minute, and Cat hadn't realized her palms, now open, had been splayed over Kara's family’s crest on her chest until Kara's own came up to meet them. Kara had tangled their fingers together before taking a deep breath.

"That's not the only thing I had to tell you, Cat. Though I have a feeling you know this too. I don't think I've ever perfected the art of keeping things from you."

"Oh, Kara, don't beat yourself up about it. Nobody has ever managed _that_." Kara had shook her head and smiled.

"Perhaps I could just show you then. Do _you_ trust me?"

"Do you really need to ask?" With their hands intertwined on her chest, Kara had leaned in then, until her lips aligned with Cat's.

The kiss had been soft and hard all at once, both of their emotions pouring out into it, unchecked. It had been unexpected and inevitable at the same time. It had been a moment of truth, and Kara never wanted it to end.

As for Cat, she’d known that kissing Kara had been a mistake the moment that their lips touched. Because she was powerless against the current of feelings that came flooding to the surface, weak in the face of such longing.

Her feelings for Kara had been eating at her alive for far longer than she cared to admit, but ever since she promoted the girl, which was supposed to _solve_ this little problem of hers, they had only started to grow exponentially, with no stop sign in sight.

Cat had been hoping that Kara would realize how improbable this was, the two of them… together. For an ever-growing list of reasons that Cat mentally checked off every night before she fell asleep, to remind herself why this was a bad idea.

The fact that Kara hadn’t seemed to care, as she kissed her with reverence, like someone on a mission, like she was the only light on a starless night, _that_ had been what finally made Cat snap out of it and gently, but firmly push Kara away with their hands still entwined on her chest.

The stricken look on Kara’s face had been enough to tell Cat everything she needed to know about how much she was hurting the young woman who came to mean so much to her in such a short amount of time. And the quiet resignation there had told her that Kara could already tell she was pulling away.

Cat had gently extricated her hands from Kara’s and lifted her right one to cup Kara’s cheek, once, allowing herself this one last indulgence before she broke both of their hearts.

“I can’t, darling,” Cat had whispered with a crack in her voice. Kara had shut her eyes tight, and the resignation that had shown when she opened them told Cat she had known every item on that list of hers. Kara had known every reason why Cat would stop her, perhaps even expected it. So Cat had watched as the hero pulled back, spun out of her work clothes, and flew away with one last sad smile.

The next morning, Kara hadn’t come in to say hi. Cat had met with her board and HR, spoken to James, and by the end of the day, called in an impromptu meeting in the bullpen. Kara had shown up there, of course, ever the loyal employee. Cat had stood in front of everyone on her floor, and declared taking a leave of absence from CatCo until further notice, and that James Olsen would become acting CEO effective immediately. She’d avoided looking in Kara’s direction the whole time.

But Kara was stubborn. It has always been something Cat admired about her. When Cat had said her goodbyes and headed into her office to pack, Kara had followed and closed the glass doors behind her.

“You are running away. I’ve never known you to be a coward, Cat Grant.”

“Well I’m sorry I’m not living up to _your_ expectations of me, Kara, but sometimes running is the right thing to do,” Cat had shouted back. “I’m doing this for you-”

“Don’t. Do _not_ tell me you’re doing this for me. We both know that’s a bad excuse.”

“Kara,” Cat had said with that splinter in her voice that seemed to be occurring more often when she uttered Kara’s correct name. “I have to do this. I’m sorry.”

“You know, I’d be fine with it if you were walking away because you don’t want me. But I know you do, Cat. I can _hear_ your heartbeat,” Kara had exclaimed. “I can feel the slightest shift in your breathing, I can see the tiniest shiver of your skin, Cat. Tell me you don’t feel the same. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want me.”

“I can’t do that. I won’t lie to you like that.”

“Okay. Okay then, Cat. Go on, have a great dive. Send a few postcards.” And with that, Kara had walked away, not bothering to hide the tears that had managed to escape. Cat had whispered her name and an apology once more, knowing Kara would hear her, and that was that.

And that brought her to this moment, trying not to cry in the car on her way to LAX to take a flight to Metropolis, after explaining herself to Carter. After seeing the disappointment on his face, too. It’s better this way, she keeps telling herself. It _has_ to be. Staying would only complicate things further, and Cat doesn’t have it in her to keep fighting her own heart when the object of her desire is so close.

Not that distance matters to Supergirl. If she wanted to, Kara could follow her anywhere in just a few short minutes, wherever that _anywhere_ was, and that’s all the proof Cat needs that Kara is letting her flee, taking the clear rejection as it was offered on a silver plate, in an especially starry night. It’s better this way.

Except that it isn’t. Except that as soon as the staff of her private jet leave her, Cat downs a bottle of wine and allows herself to finally, finally cry for Kara. For how much she’s hurt her, for how much she’s taken from both of them. Except that Cat only makes it to her Metropolis apartment on shaky feet with the help of her driver, and crashes into a restless night’s sleep.

She jumps then, from luncheons in Metropolis to a fundraiser in Florida, to an award show in Hollywood, to fashion weeks in European capitals, to dinners with mayors and opera shows and press conferences and so on. She visits Carter on a weekend every two weeks, no matter where she has been in the world beforehand. At the end of one of their visits, he asks her permission to go to CatCo the next day and have lunch with Kara.

The two of them had gotten close too, when she and Kara had figured out their new friendship. He would join them for lunch after school every now and then, and Cat’s heart had swelled at the ease and happiness that seemed to settle in Carter in Kara’s presence. So she nods a yes, not willing to deny her son that friendship.

The next time she sees him, he tells her Kara misses her. That she hadn’t said it, but it was clear and available for everyone to see.

Cat whispers, “I miss her too, Carter. You know I do.” For a moment Carter looks like he’s about to ask her why she’s still doing this then, but falters and lets it go.

When there are no more events to attend and winter break is starting, Cat takes Carter to Metropolis to spend the holidays, as they do every year. He enjoys the snow of the East Coast city. Christmas passes by peacefully and without any run-ins with Katherine Grant. On the third day of the new year however, the unexpected happens.

Cat turns on her TV that morning to her own channel, to find James announcing an emergency conference held by the President herself and a committee of speakers for the FBI and NASA. When the man she knows as Agent Mulder appears to represent the ‘FBI,’ she realizes this emergency conference has just become a personal matter to her. She’s about to panic, expecting the worst case scenario, when Kara, her cousin, and the Green Lantern also take to the podium.

President Marsdin begins, “Citizens of the United States, and the world; it has come to our attention that an unknown alien ship with heavy weaponry pointed in our direction is closing in on the Solar System. It will be entering the orbit of Alpha Centauri - the closest star system to us - in two days. The Green Lantern will be there to diplomatically represent Earth as a member of the intergalactic community. In the case that those unknown assailants refuse diplomacy, Superman and Supergirl, as our only superheroes capable of carrying out such a mission, will be travelling to meet the ship halfway, in hopes of stopping the attack before it happens. The three will depart shortly, and the mission will proceed effective immediately.”

After looking around at the gathered crowd, and seeing the shocked look on their faces, the President adds in a sombre, but determined tone, the one usually used by people in positions of power, who have the means to either soothe pain or create it:

“This is a dangerous mission, even for our alien friends, and we thank them for their continued support and willingness for sacrifice. Make no mistake - they _will_ save us, with no regard for personal cost. Because that’s what a hero does,” she concludes in a ceremonial voice, before quietly adding, “Godspeed, my friends.”

When the President’s voice fades away, Cat doesn’t move at all, just keeps staring at the screen where she still remembers seeing Kara’s face not a moment ago, with that solemn expression she remembers so well. The one that means she is ready for battle, come what may. The one Cat admires so much. The one she _despises_.

She has no concept of the passage of time as she sits there in her bedroom, knuckles white as she grips the sheets of her queensized bed, anything to center herself, even if it does nothing to assuage the sick feeling in her stomach at the thought of Kara shooting into space to stop a hostile alien aircraft with her bare hands.

But Cat is powerless as her mind instantly provides gruesome images of her very own superhero getting hurt while trying to save them all. Because, superpowers or not, Kara is _not_ invincible. And Cat knows that more than anyone.

Especially, because she’s seen it for herself, many times before. It was in the way Kara looked at her when Cat was in one of her dark, brooding moods and wouldn’t let anyone come close, and she answered every biting remark and cutting one-liner thrown her way with a sparkling smile and her sweet, Sunny Danvers attitude, but her ocean blue eyes were telling a whole different story.

And it was also in the way Kara drew back, every time Cat went one step too far, when her only response to the young woman’s unwavering loyalty and kindness was to lash out at her, because she was the closest body she could reach. The most convenient punching bag. Always so willing to take it all. Cat knew this, and she had kept hurting her anyway.

Cat groans painfully as she feels tears gather in the corner of her eye, at the thought of what a disappointment she’s been. What Kara must think of her now. And, even worse than that, what if she actually dies on this suicide mission and Cat never gets a chance to make things right between them? How is she supposed to live with herself _then_?

She feels sick as she reaches for the remote to turn off the TV, not caring for the technicalities NASA’s director is explaining, even if she could do so little to chase away the thoughts of the girl who fell from the stars and effortlessly managed to steal her heart.

As she sits alone on her expensive silk sheets, she silently wonders how many different ways she could lose a person that, if she was truly being honest with herself, never actually belonged to her in the first place.

Cat can’t take the silence anymore, and finally decides to call Kara, if only to tell her to be safe. When the phone goes to voicemail three times, she gives up and whispers a “please, stay safe, Kara,” after the _beep_ that sounds more like a sob than anything coherent.

She does not know that Kara’s phone has already been left in DEO custody, and that she’s momentarily gearing up to board the ship and take off into the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

When President Marsdin finishes her speech and the director of NASA begins to explain the logistics of the mission, Kara and her two teammates exit the podium. They bid their farewell to the President, and Kara takes a moment to hug J’onn goodbye. He has offered to accompany them, but Marsdin had found it important to have at least one superpowered alien left on Earth, in case the trio does not make it back. 

They take flight at once, headed towards Cape Canaveral, Florida, where their spaceship is set to launch from. Kara lands light on her feet, with sureness in her steps and her head held high. Preparations for their launch proceed quickly, and soon enough they’re almost ready to enter the ship and take off.

Kara’s resolve wavers for the first time since they’ve been assigned this mission 38 hours ago, when the time comes that she has to say goodbye to her sister. She’d seen the Superfriends the night before, and flown to see Eliza early this morning, so this is the last stop before she’s really ready to go.  She’d pondered going to see Cat for a while, but decided against it, knowing that if she even saw the woman’s face one last time, she wouldn’t be able to let go ever again. Better not to tempt fate, Kara decided.

She holds on to Alex as tightly as she can without hurting her,  feeling like the young thirteen-year-old girl again who’d just lost her planet, along with everything else she ever held dear.  Her big sister hangs on with almost equal strength,  and Kara soaks in all the love she knows she’ll need, and only then does she let go. When they pull back from each other, Alex cups Kara’s face in both of her hands.

“Come back to me, Kara. Come back to us.”

“I will, Alex. Will you tell me you believe I can do this, just one more time?”

“I do. I  _ believe _ in you. If anyone can do it, it’s you.” Alex stands on her tiptoes to kiss her sister’s forehead. “I love you so much, Kara.”

“I love you, too.” And with that, Kara walks away, and into the ship. They take off in a flurry of rocket fuel flame ten minutes later, and break orbit in ten more. 

 

The three heroes sit in silence, the enormity of their mission finally hitting them as each takes to their own corner of the ship. Hal opens a contact line to the Green Lantern Corps to discuss how to proceed when they meet with the enemy. Clark monitors the ship’s trajectory and distance from Earth. Kara stares at the maps and radar screens, going over the plan of action they had laid out with some of Earth’s best military generals. Her thoughts filter out of focus though, and steer back towards the woman she loves.

It jars her, when she realizes which word she’s just thought of.  _ Love.  _ She’s never allowed herself to think it before, much less say it out loud to herself or anyone else.  Alex simply wouldn’t understand, not at first, and Kara doesn’t feel like justifying the way she feels, not even to her sister. And as for Cat, despite the feelings Kara strongly suspects she herself harbours for the young hero, she won’t let herself accept them, that much is quite clear. At least, not yet. If  _ ever _ ...

Kara mentally chastises herself for even thinking of Cat, knowing that a simple runaway thought could lead into a spiral of conflicting emotions when it comes to her feelings for the woman in question. The fact that she’s flying in space, on her way to defend the entire planet with only a few of her friends and allies for backup is not helping matters either.

Though, to be fair, Kara knows the alternative wouldn’t exactly compel her to eagerly fly into danger either. She entertains the idea of a different outcome after their kiss, and can already feel the blush creeping up her neck so she shuts it down just as fast, before her companions start asking any unwanted questions she wouldn’t know how to answer for herself. It’s… unsettling, to say the least.

But it’s not a question in Kara’s mind of whether or not she’s ready to put herself out there to defend the people of this fair planet. It never has been. It’s why her mother sent her here, all those years ago, it’s her purpose. And Rao knows how long she’s been looking for one. It’s just that maybe now she’s starting to realize that she could have more than just  _ one _ . If Cat wants that too, that is.

Her heart aches for Cat. She thinks of that kiss they’d shared in the quiet of the night, the one Cat had stopped all too soon. She thinks of Cat’s soft voice as she said Kara’s name, her fond smile, the one she only seems to offer to her and Carter. She thinks of Cat’s words and how her support has carried her through to this point. She thinks of how Cat has managed to see  _ her _ , to see Kara Zor-El, beyond both the glasses and the cape.

 

Time passes by rather fast for the heroes lost in their thoughts, and before Kara notices it, Clark announces that they’re at a safe distance from Earth to initiate a Faster-Than-Light jump. Returning back to mission mode snaps Kara out of her musings, and she decides to add her feelings for Cat to the list of reasons to go home to, instead of something to induce regrets and fears.

With her family and friends, and now Cat and Carter in mind, Kara meets the other two heroes in the cockpit’s central command and straps in. Hal sets the coordinates for the Centaurus constellation and commands the ship to make the jump. The three heroes take a deep breath, preparing for the battle of their lives, before their ship vibrates into shockwaves and propels them out of Sol’s light.

 

*********

 

Cat watches the whole thing, of course. Well, at least what’s available of it, which is a lot less than what she’d like to see. But then again, maybe not.

Carter is with his father, despite his continued protests that he should stay with her. For emotional support, he’d said. And while his thoughtfulness warms the deepest parts of Cat’s soul, she cannot bear for him to see her like this. Not when she’s so worked up with nerves that she’s just about ready to tear a hole in the wall at the first images that NASA forwards to CatCo TV.  They manage to train all available telescopes on the trio’s battle, and the photos come in long intervals, so they always receive information much later than it really happens, which, of course, only makes Cat more anxious. 

The images are animated into blotchy videos, showing the three heroes as teeny, tiny dots, lost against the darkness of space, with their superhero aliases tagged under them. The two ships appear somewhat bigger, the enemy’s being the biggest of the figures they can see. The first ‘video’ they receive shows a few missiles fired at Earth’s defenders. The smaller ship dodges those easily, of course, but Cat never stops shaking after that, not for a single moment. She doesn’t eat or speak to anyone, can’t even bear to answer Carter’s text, because she’d promised never to lie to him, and there is no way she can tell him how she is  _ really _ feeling at the moment.  

The hours pile up as Cat and the rest of the world await news about the proceedings of the battle. Audio transmissions seem to come easier, but there’s only so little the heroes can say while fighting what turns out to be an entire fleet encased within the larger ship. A whole day after launch, NASA’s spokesperson provides an update.

The trio has decided to divide and conquer by splitting up and tackling the lead ship of the fleet from different directions. And it seems to work for a while, as they take hold of some of the smaller ships and turn them against their mothership. But even superheroes get tired, and their stamina begins to run out. The feeds become less reliable the harder they fight.

Cat loses track of time and almost regrets staying up to watch the broadcast, but then she has to laugh at herself, the sound hollow and miserable in her throat, just like she herself is feeling. As if she had a _ choice _ .  Exhaustion takes over her body eventually, and she falls asleep on her couch. When she wakes at the dawn of the second day, her eyes, along with the rest of the world’s, remain trained on their television, laptop and phone screens. Hoping against hope that their heroes are still out there, fighting for them. 

Forty-two hours after launch, the battle hits its peak and they get an onslaught of photos. The dot tagged ‘Supergirl’ relentlessly keeps attacking the enemy, her resolve seemingly not wavering for a second. Some analyst on TV babbles on about how her flight patterns show what kind of attacks she’s using, but all  Cat can think of is how  _ strong _ Kara is. Physically, of course, that goes without saying, but it’s more than that.  Cat marvels at the determination it must take for Kara to keep going like that and she clings to that thought most of all, when all other hope seems to fall away. 

She wonders what is so important to the hero that she can stand back up again every time, when anyone else in her place would just give up and admit defeat. Cat lets herself entertain the idea for a fleeting second that  _ she  _ could be one of the reasons, before dismissing it entirely. Not after what she did to Kara. Not after the way they parted, after the pain she’d caused. No,  _ she _ did this to them and she would have to live with that knowledge, but she suddenly isn’t so sure if she could do it alone.

Earth needs Supergirl to survive, Cat thinks to herself, but I need  _ Kara _ . It’s as simple as that, and Cat could slap herself in the face for not seeing it before. She doesn’t have any more time to dwell on her feelings though, because she has a sudden, overpowering hunch that things are about to go sideways. Or who knows, it could just be the fact that Cat is utterly and completely terrified. 

She’s terrified for her child, for herself, for her planet, but most of all for this extraordinary young woman who holds the fate of their world in her hands as if it weighs nothing, without a single care for herself. That’s fair though, as Cat worries enough for the both of them. Her stomach has been in tight knots ever since the battle began, the pillow she’s been clutching to her chest is completely ruined by now, but no amount of anticipation could have prepared her for the agony she feels  when the next report informs her that the Green Lantern has just let Mission Control know the enemy is in possession of Kryptonite. Supergirl has received the worst hit, is what the headline says. And  _ there _ it is.

Cat could swear she stops breathing - or at least, that’s what it feels like, when she hears those words. She can also hear the phone ringing, and she can see Carter’s name on the screen, but she still can’t make herself move. It takes her five minutes to realize she’s sobbing. The updates stop coming in. She calls her son back and they cry together. Cat doesn’t notice when he refers to Supergirl by her real name.

 

After reassuring Carter as best as she could, Cat sits idle in her livingroom, listening to the clock tick. The news become more scarce with time, and Cat loses count of how many drinks she’s poured. She cannot bear to think of Kara in battle anymore, but thinks of the last time she’d seen her, face tear-stricken as she walked out of the fishbowl office on CatCo Plaza’s 40th floor.

When the clock signals 56 hour-past-launch, President Marsdin appears from the Oval Office to break the news that the battle has been won. Cat hears the cheers coming from the streets of Metropolis before she can process the information. The conflicted emotions that take over Cat at that moment leave her incapable of both speech and thought. So much for two Pulitzers. Just when she begins to celebrate though, the President continues. _Of course_ the good news wouldn’t last.

“However,” she goes on a little unsteadily, more Olivia than Madam President at the moment, and Cat can’t find it in herself to blame her. “Even though we know our heroes have stopped the attack, unfortunately, our last line of communications with them has been severed. We can gain visual as we have been doing for the past few days, and we can transmit audio, but we can’t hear back from them. Our technicians are working on a way for us to reach them, even if all we can do is send them a message of hope. And as much is it saddens me to say this, hope might be our last resort at the moment. We have been made aware that the heroes’ ship lost its last reserves of fuel in the fight…” she trails off. 

“Considering their injuries, the lack of two-way communications, and distance from Earth,” Olivia draws a long, shaky breath, “it is unlikely that Superman, Supergirl, and the Green Lantern will be able to make it back home.”

Olivia carries on, providing platitudes and empty reassurances, but Cat no longer hears her as the wheels start turning in her head, momentarily overriding the paralyzing dread she should be feeling.  Because she knows the power of hope, and she has been witness to how her superhero uses it as her strongest weapon and defense. Which gives Cat an idea, one that might actually work.

 

With her connections to the Daily Planet, it doesn’t take her long to secure a chance to speak from their radio station. Perry White is as paralyzed as everyone over the news, or rather lack thereof, of Earth’s defender heroes, but he recognizes the glint of a brilliant idea in Cat’s eyes.

So she finds herself in a small room with a microphone and a few prime suspects of the Metropolis elite, who are all looking to her like she might have all the answers, and Cat can only wish that were true. Not that she would ever admit that to  _ these people _ . So she holds her head high and begins her broadcast, hoping against hope that wherever Kara is, her message reaches her before it’s too late.

“People of Earth, this is Cat Grant, speaking to you from Metropolis,” Cat introduces herself, finding solace in the familiarity of doing so, before focusing on the task at hand. “I know you’re all frightened, I am too,” she says, and it’s only thanks to her decades’ worth of experience that she can keep the tremor out of her voice. “As a journalist, I value honesty and integrity above all, and it’s those values that are making me reach out to you now, but as a human being… as a  _ mother _ ,” she says, and her voice does break this time and no power on Earth could make her hide it, “I understand how you’re feeling. I do.”

“But I ask you, please, don’t give up hope just yet. Because by doing so, you would be making the huge mistake of discounting our alien allies… our friends. They have done so much for you, without you ever knowing, sacrificed so much of themselves, just to keep you safe. To keep  _ us _ safe. I myself am guilty, in some instances, of underestimating what they are capable of,” Cat trails off, thinking of one such alien in particular. Which brings her to the reason behind this little broadcast, and more importantly, the person she really wants to address with it.

“I happen to know from personal experience, that they can exceed even our highest expectations, if only we  _ let  _ them. If we give them a chance, they might just surprise us,” Cat whispers, hoping the double meaning won’t be lost on Kara if… no,  _ when _ she hears it.

“And to our heroes, I say,  _ thank you _ , from the bottom of my heart. Your battle is not done yet, but hopefully, knowing what it means to us that you’re out there at all, makes it just that little bit easier to endure,” Cat assures, knowing she should probably wrap it up soon, but before that, there is one more thing she needs to say. “Just know that we believe in you, that  _ I _ believe in you... and Supergirl,” Cat sighs, letting go of all pretense, in favour of saying what is in her heart, for once. “I  _ really  _ need you to come back home…  _ Please, darling. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We could say we're sorry for that cliffhanger, but we just wouldn't mean it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're very sorry for how long it took to update. Life got in the way, as it does. We hope you enjoy the conclusion and find it worthy of the wait. This story has been a labor of love, and a lot of all-caps yelling. :')

Kara lies motionless on the hard, metal floor of the ship, Clark’s hand loosely held in hers. They’re all bruised and battered and broken, after having the fight of their lives. Their ship is charred on the outside, and none of its consoles or chairs are sitting where they used to anymore. Nothing and nobody came out of this intact.

“At least we did it. We saved Earth,” Hal says, voice heavy. What goes unsaid is the trio’s acceptance of their certain death. They only need lie here, until the oxygen runs out, and then it’s quite literally game over. Hal will go first, for Kara and her cousin can hold out longer, due to their somewhat superior Kryptonian physiology. Kara has no strength left in her to reject the thought, so she thinks back to the life she’s lead instead.

She thinks of Krypton and its red skies, of Argo City, her parents and aunt and her friends from another life. She remembers falling to Earth, becoming a Danvers, becoming Alex’s sister; for all intents and purposes, becoming a _human_. A sob escapes her without realizing as she thinks of what this will do to her older sister.

She thinks, too, of coming out as Supergirl, all the good she and her cousin had done. And finally, she allows herself to think of Cat, of meeting her, getting to know her, falling in love with her. She thinks of Carter, and how he’d wormed his way into her heart too, without any effort at all.

She recalls everything they’ve endured in the past three days; the missiles that kept on coming, the small fighter ships that outnumbered them, the secret weapon their enemy launched when Kara thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse. She recalls the green beams as they hit her body, the piercing pain that shot through her at the feeling, how Hal had conjured a bubble of breathable air around her head in the last instant, to save her. She recalls Clark taking the next few hits to protect her.

And she recalls how she pulled through, barely, but still. How the distant memory of a certain pair of green eyes, so ironically like the element that almost killed her, kept her from giving up, even when all she wanted to do was die. She didn’t give up, though, none of them did. Hal is right, they _did it_. With that thought and the faces of everyone she loves in mind, Kara closes her eyes, ready to let go. And _that’s_ when she hears it.

Static comes through the speakers of the ship, one more transmission. Kara expects J’onn or Alex, or one of NASA’s people, or even Olivia herself, but all she hears is the unmistakable, achingly familiar, rich voice of one Cat Grant. At first, Kara thinks she’s hallucinating. This is definitely what the beginning of dying would be like, at least in her case. But then the voice persists, and when Cat addresses Supergirl, addresses _Kara_ , even calls her ‘darling’ in an intergalactic broadcast, she finally snaps out of it.

“Guys, it’s not over yet,” Kara says, suddenly the most alert out of all three of them, despite her substantial injuries. “I have an idea. It’s crazy, but everything we’ve been through is.”

“Kara, we’re out of fuel, the ship is barely functioning… What could we possibly do?” Clark asks, and Kara notes as she sits up, that even Superman sounds like he’s lost all hope at this point. Time for Supergirl to take over, she thinks and inwardly smirks at how proud she knows Cat would be to see her now.

 _Cat_.

“Listen, I know it’s a long shot, but… You and Hal could fix the FTL engine. Hal, your powers don’t burn out as long as you have the ring, right?” He nods in response. “Okay, then you can create the missing parts. Clark, do you have enough strength to use heat vision?” Kara asks, turning to her cousin expectantly.

“A little bit, yes. I don’t know how I still have it, but it’s there.”

“It’s the unfiltered radiation,” Hal explains. “Without an atmosphere in the way, you two are absorbing more yellow sunlight from Alpha Centauri than you’ve ever had from Sol.”

“It’s settled then. You fix the engine, while you use heat vision to give it energy. I’ll go out and push the ship around the star until the acceleration forms a gravitational pull strong enough to push us forward,” Kara shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “NASA does it all the time with probes, I can do it too.”

“This is insane,” Clark replies. They do it anyway.

The trio stand, just barely, outside of the ship’s airlock and revise their plan. When everything is set, Kara embraces her cousin.

“El-Mayarah, Kal-El.”

“El-Mayarah,” Clark replies, his eyes watering. Next, she hugs Hal, who has become a good friend, even in such a short amount of time.

“Break a leg, Supergirl.”

“You too, Lantern.”

Kara waves at them from within the airlock and inhales. She takes in as much oxygen as she can, knowing she won’t be able to hold it as long as she had during the fight. When she gives a signalling nod, Clark pulls the lever that opens the other side of the airlock, and out into vacuum she flies.

Kara takes her position at the rear of the ship and pushes. She feels the rays of light surrounding her shoot through her skin. Her cells vibrate with the radiation they’re absorbing, and she feels a burning sensation all over her body. It hurts more than any pain she’s ever experienced. It would be so easy to stop, she thinks, to let go of all the air she’s holding in and just let herself float away in the dark, neverending expanse of space. But then Cat’s voice echoes in her ears. She hears her broken ‘ _please, darling_ ’ over and over again, and flies faster.

The gravitation between the ship and the star multiplies with each round Kara makes. When her speed stops increasing, Hal and Clark take it as a cue to do their part on the inside of the ship. Kara’s hands form dents in the ship’s tail as it begins to make its FTL jump, and Kara grits her teeth from the effort as they quite literally achieve the impossible.

What none of them know, what Kara herself doesn’t know, is that the feelings she has for Cat and the inspiration she takes from the memory of hearing that familiar term of endearment once more directed her way; in short, Kara’s reaction to the woman she _loves_ , manifests on a cosmic scale in their wake.

What none of them could’ve predicted, is that the magnitude of Kara’s stunt pulls Alpha Centauri’s prime star out of its orbit, just the slightest bit. It’s the smallest of changes, something no one would ever notice if all of humanity’s telescopes hadn’t been tracking the star system. But they _are_.

 

*********

 

Back on Earth, many hours have passed since her desperate broadcast, and by now Cat is at her wits’ end, about to lose all hope. This is when James calls her, frantically telling her to turn the TV back on. Cat does, just as the anchor does not _tell_ , but rather shouts in glee, that Mission Control has just announced finally having visual back on the heroes’ ship, just entering the Solar System.

“The ship appears to be moving with Supergirl at the rear, running on her sheer force of will alone as she’s pushing the aircraft towards Earth with herculean effort. Frankly, it’s inconceivable that she is still capable of such a feat after that powerful burst of Kryptonite she received earlier,” the newscaster shares in a vivid, conspiratorial voice, professionalism momentarily forgotten in the face of such a miracle. “They’re expected to crash within minutes in the Gulf of Mexico. Our cameras are ready to intercept.”

Cat sobs in relief, before laughing hysterically, then she starts sobbing again, finally letting it all out. It’s an incredible release of emotions, of everything she’s been doing her best to keep under lock and key for the past few days, and she’s powerless against it now as she finally gives herself over to the inevitable onslaught.

Just like she’s powerless against the current of feelings bubbling up to the surface when they show a picture of Kara, _her_ Kara, while the anchor keeps praising Supergirl for her incredible heroics. Of course, Cat chuckles with tears still in her eyes. Only her Kara would do such a thing. Only her Kara _could_.

She watches as the ship enters the atmosphere and falls into the sea. Clearly prepared shadowy government agents descend from helicopters around the ship and pull the heroes out and into safety at last. Cat sees a dark-haired woman holding Kara, clutching her, steadying herself as much as her sister, Cat guesses, as the paramedics load Kara onto a stretcher and into the small plane.

Cat is already reaching for her phone, hazel eyes still fixed on the TV, long after Kara’s face has disappeared into a government-issued helicopter, as she waits for Olivia to pick up. When she does, all Cat says, in a clear, impressively authoritative voice, for someone who is talking to the leader of the Free World, all traces of her previous emotional outburst gone from her voice:

“Take me to her.”

 

*********

 

When Kara hears the splash of waves crashing against the body of the ship, the adrenaline that had kept her running drains out. Her body slumps forward onto the tail of the ship, and she feels herself about to slip into the water when two all-too-familiar, strong arms pull her up. Her vision blurs as she feels more arms carry and lay her body on a stretcher. She can hear tidbits of Alex’s reassuring words; torrents of _you’re okay’s_ and _you did it’s_ and _I love you’s_.

Once inside the rescue helicopter, Kara manages to croak out her sister’s name, although the noise of the chopper drowns it out. She catches a blurry glimpse of Alex’s face, red and puffy, but harboring a wide, relieved smile, before unconsciousness takes her under.

 

*********

 

“What do you mean _wait?_ ” Cat exclaims loudly over the phone.

“Look, Cat…” Olivia tries to reason with her, which is her first mistake.

“I am Catherine Jane Grant, I do _not_ wait, if anything, I make other people wait _for_ me, and you should know that better than anyone by now, Liv!”

“I...alright, then let me try this another way,” Olivia sighs as she says, “I can’t have you taken to see Supergirl, because she is not up to visitors yet. I’ll let you know when she is back to full strength, and then…”

“Did I stutter?” Cat asks, raising her voice. “I want to see her, _now_ , Olivia! And you will let me! Or so help me…”

“Or. What?” Marsdin counters, apparently having had enough. “Pray tell, what will you do, Cat? I’m the _president_ ,” she announces with an air of superiority that almost makes Cat roll her eyes straight out of her head. “Or have you forgotten that already?”

And that’s mistake number two. Cat sneers, tasting the beginning of her sweet victory. It’s almost too easy, she thinks to herself.

“Believe me, I’m aware,” she says dryly, with a nasty edge to her voice. “But have you forgotten _how_ you got there?”

The silence on the other end is all the answer Cat needs. No use dragging the past back up now, as she herself would prefer not to. Some things are better just left there, and for good reason.

“So this is how it’s gonna work,” Cat says calmly, knowing that despite having the upper hand for the moment, she is still on dangerous ground here. “You help me now, and I will continue to keep your little secrets and advocate for you, just as I have done before, consequently keeping you in office, so that we don’t have to endure another walking, talking, hairspray-induced nightmare of a white male privilege factory in the White House for the next four years,” Cat huffs out impatiently, anxious to get the conversation over with and her point across.

Despite their many differences, she still supports Olivia Marsdin, especially at a perilous time like the present.

And besides, even Cat’s substantial ego isn’t monumental enough that she believed she could just stage a successful political coup with no more than a snap of two of her slender fingers. Now with three of them, though…

“ _Deal?_ ”

“Deal.”

 

*********

 

Kara stays in a coma for almost five days. She slips into consciousness a few times, and manages to open her eyes for thirty seconds or so whenever it happens. She sees Alex or Eliza most times, their faces hopeful and illuminated by the yellow lights of the sunbed, telling her to try to keep her eyes open. Sometimes she sees Cat too, but whatever small part of her brain that still has a grasp on reality convinces her that those loose curls and soft green eyes are just wistful hallucinations.

When she comes to at last, her limbs are sore and her chest is heavy with what she recognizes as the pain of multiple broken ribs. There’s an IV plugged in her arm and there are electrodes stuck to her head and above her heart, the machines they’re connected to beeping in steady rhythms. She can’t hear anything beyond the confines of the room she’s in, nor see through the lights and ceiling hanging above. Powers definitely out, then. As the white walls surrounding her come into focus, Kara registers the hand clasped in hers and squeezes. Alex jolts out of her nap, and she appears towering above Kara, hands reaching for her face in an instant.

“Oh, God, Kara! You’re awake!” Alex cries. “Keep your eyes open for me, okay?”

“Ale-” Kara coughs, her voice hoarse. Alex quickly pours water from a pitcher on a nearby table and holds it for Kara to drink. “Alex, I’m… what-”

“Shh, it’s okay. Don’t tire yourself out. I’ll tell you everything that’s happened, but I have to make sure you’re in the clear first, okay?”

Kara watches for a while, impatient and irritated by the pain holding her body down, as Alex performs a number of checks and takes note of readings on the machines sustaining her. She also removes the electrodes attached to Kara’s body.

“You’re still… in bad shape, Kar, but you’re stable and beginning to recover.” Alex chokes on a few tears and continues, “God, I’m so relieved. You terrified the hell out of me, Kara.”

“I’m sorry-”

“No, no. You have nothing to be sorry for. You saved all of us, you saved Earth.” Alex sniffs back the rest of her tears and gives Kara her proudest smile. Her hand tightens over Kara’s while the other runs through Kara’s hair to soothe her.

“What happened? The last thing I remember is seeing a flash of light after”- another cough -”accelerating the ship.”

“Clark woke up earlier today. He told me about the wild plan you devised. And well, that’s what happened, you did it,” Alex shrugs, apparently unsurprised by her sister’s tenacity. “You made the jump and came out of it a few thousand miles off the light side of the moon. Then you pushed the ship into the atmosphere, crashed in the ocean near Mexico. That was five days ago.”

“How long were we gone?”

“Counting the journeys there and back, almost a week.”

“Oh… wow.” Kara stares, processing the information.

“How did, how did you do it? I mean I’m super glad you did, Kara, but it shouldn’t have been possible, not after the injuries you’ve sustained,” Alex asks, with hints of wonder and awe in her expression.

“I, uh, I’m as amazed as you are, Alex. I did give up for a brief moment, you know. We saved the planet and that was enough for me, I was willing to let go,” Kara admits, somewhat ashamed. “But then I heard Cat’s broadcast-” Kara is cut off by the door cracking open, with an exhausted Cat Grant coming through.

Kara inhales a sharp breath and the monitor keeping watch of her heartbeats spikes. Cat freezes, hand tightening over the doorknob as she takes sight of Kara, awake and speaking. The two hold each other’s gaze, a sea of emotions transpiring in the short distance between them. This goes on for a long minute, and the air becomes charged with everything being poured in the stretching silence that has filled the small space containing them. Alex clears her throat and rises up from her seat.

“I’ll let you two talk.”

Alex exits the room after giving Cat a small, reassuring nod - something that does not go unnoticed by Kara. Cat begins to move then, taking slow steps towards Kara, her eyes wide and cheeks lined with tears she doesn’t bother to wipe away. When she reaches Kara’s side, Cat extends a hand. She hesitates, extending and withdrawing her shaky fingers a couple times, seemingly afraid to touch the bed-ridden superhero. Kara raises a hand to meet Cat’s halfway. She pulls their entwined hands gently towards her chest, making Cat’s rest above her heart; letting her feel it as it beats, now stronger, faster than five minutes ago, all because of the effect Cat has on her.

It’s all too similar to that night on the balcony when they shared their first kiss, their hands on Kara’s rapidly beating heart. Kara sees the moment of recognition in Cat’s eyes as it hits her too, and it seems to make Cat’s last line of resistance crumble. She falls onto the chair Alex has just vacated as loud sobs escape her throat. Kara raises her free hand to tangle in Cat’s curls, and whispers:

“Hey, Cat, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m fine.”

“Dammit, Kara! You’re not fine! You fought a goddamn army in outer space!” Cat shouts, her voice cracking in between sobs. She withdraws from Kara and paces around the bed. “Y-you have no idea how worried I was,” she continues. “I was awake for days, waiting on every bit of information, waiting for another grainy photo of a white dot in the dark with your name written underneath to appear on my TV... Just to tell me you were still alive!”

Kara stares, wide-eyed, at the mixture of anger and pain pouring out of Cat as she flails her hands in tandem with her words. Her erratic pacing lacks the grace Kara has seen her move with all too many times to count, as she commanded roomfuls of people using a practiced strut and one click of her fingers. Cat looks even smaller when she halts and hunches over the edge of Kara’s bed, her knuckles whitening with the strength of her grip on the metal. If there ever have been any doubts left in Kara’s mind about how much Cat cares about her, they evaporate at the sight.

A second of silence passes as Cat catches her breath. Her voice drops when she resumes, “I was so relieved, so ready to celebrate when Olivia announced that you had won… But she went on; they told us you lost all fuel in the fight, that you wouldn’t be able to make the trip back. I cried to Carter. With him.”

“Cat, I- I’m sorry I put you and Carter through that. I had to-”

“I know. I know because I’ve never had a doubt that you would do everything in your power to protect us. I know that this is the kind of hero you are. I admire you for it, and it’s infuriating, you _idiot!_ ”

Kara laughs. An honest-to-god laugh. It burns down her throat and restores more of her than the artificial light above ever could. She sees the hurt about to take over Cat and clarifies, “I missed this, you giving me hard-earned compliments that end with a minor insult.” Kara smiles. “I missed you.”

“Oh, Kara, I missed you too. All those months I spent trying to dive, I was just missing you,” Cat whispers. “All I could think about, from the moment your mission was announced, was how I left you that day at CatCo. How you could have died, millions of miles away from home, before I could get the chance to make things right between us… Before I could tell you how I truly feel about you.”

“Come here.” Kara slides to the right side of the bed and pats the minimal space next to her. Cat sits slowly opposite her. Kara lifts her hands to cradle either side of Cat’s face, and smiling, she asks, “May I kiss you?”

Kara keeps her eyes on Cat’s as she feels Cat’s soft hands settle atop her chest, fingertips tickling her neck. Her heart flutters at the tenderness with which Cat touches her, mindful of hurting her. When Cat’s eyes slip shut and she shifts a tad closer in permission, Kara closes the distance.

They move against each other, tentative and careful. Kara feels Cat melt into her, finally allowing herself what she’s deprived both of them from for months. And as weak as she may be now, she feels herself engulfing Cat’s small body, vowing with nothing but the delicate dance of lips and hands to always keep Cat within the safety of her arms. For the first time in a long time, Kara feels at home, and she can only hope Cat feels the same.

They separate when the need for oxygen overtakes both of them. Foreheads pressed together, Cat smiles at last. Kara returns the smile twice as big and says, “We have all the time in the world to tell each other everything we need to now, my love. I know what you’ve been through the past few days won’t be easy to get over, but I’m alive. I’m here. I came back for you.”

Cat jerks her head back, startled at Kara’s admission. “Do you- did Alex tell you how you got the ship up and running again?”

“Yes,” Kara answers slowly, not quite following. “She said my plan to harness a gravitational pull from Alpha Centauri worked.”

“I see. So you have no idea what happened as a result, do you?”

“No... What happened? Did anyone get hurt when we crashed into Earth?” Kara asks, more of a superhero concerned, as always, for others than a fallen, injured soldier.

“No, no, darling, it wasn’t bad. It was just... _impossible,_ ” Cat answers and Kara can sense her amazement, and wonders what this has to do with her confession in the first place. “When I came into the room you were telling Alex about the broadcast. What were you going to say, Kara?”

“I was saying that I’d given up, and then we received your broadcast. I heard your speech, I heard you call out to me.” Kara draws a breath. “You asked me to come home, so I did,” she says with a shrug, as if it’s nothing worthy of note.

“Kara,” Cat begins, “Your acceleration around the star was so powerful it moved it out of orbit. The experts are raving about how this change would’ve taken two hundred years under natural circumstances, and might not have been seen at all if it weren’t for every telescope available looking out for the three of you.”

“Oh. Well. I didn’t know I could do that.”

“Are you listening to me?! You pulled a _fucking star_ out of orbit, Kara!”

“For. You.” Kara pauses and allows Cat a moment to take everything in, before continuing, “I love you, Catherine.”

Cat kisses her again, this time more forceful and passionate. Kara’s arms wrap around Cat, hugging her as close as possible given their positions. She gives in happily when Cat’s tongue pushes at her bottom lip, and at the contact, she feels all of Cat’s bottled up devotion pour into her. When Cat comes up for air, she voices the emotion back, breathless and face flushed.

“I love you, too. Oh, you beautiful idiot, I love you, too.”

Kara tastes salt in her mouth before she could have a chance to feel the tears slide down her cheeks. Hearing the words coming from Cat tugs at something within her. It’s as if a hunger that had gnawed at her for years has been satisfied at once. Pieces of her that have been jumbled for as long as she could remember, fall into place. The heart monitor gives up on keeping track of the high and irregular spikes in her heartbeat.

“Say it again,” Cat asks against her lips, between tiny pecks. Kara obeys.

“I love you, _Catherine_.”

Their kisses slow down afterwards, until they deteriorate into nothing but a soft clashing of teeth because neither woman can stop smiling. It's only the sound of a wince Kara can't help but make when Cat's elbow collides with her ribs, that breaks them out of their stupor.

"I'm so sorry, Kara," Cat says as her palm barely grazes the side of Kara's chest where she accidentally hit her.

"Never, ever apologize for that."

"This reminds me, I must take you home. You won't recover well in some underground government facility that smells of sweat and kevlar." Kara laughs as Cat scrunches her nose in disgust. It seems to her like the reality of where she is has just caught up to Cat.

"Home? With you and Carter?" Kara beams at the thought.

"Yes, darling.”

“There’s nothing I’d want more, but good luck convincing Alex.”

“That’s already taken care of.” Kara stares in surprise.

“I’ve always imagined the two of you would hate each other at first.” Cat smiles, although it’s slightly pained.

“Well, very strong bonds can form between you and someone if a person both of you love fights an entire fleet and pushes a spaceship from a solar system to another, Kara.”

“In that case, I can’t wait to go and to see Carter.”

“He's here too, you know. He'll be thrilled to see you."

"Ah, so he knows. Is it possible to hide anything from you Grants?" Cat smirks and rolls her eyes at that, and Kara's heart nearly bursts at seeing the sarcastic, charming Cat she knows start to break through bloodshot eyes and tear-marked cheeks. "Not that I'm not happy to have both of you here, Cat, but _how_ are you here?"

"I may have...blackmailed the president," Cat answers sheepishly.

"I- I'm not the tiniest bit surprised." They descend into a fit of laughter, both in disbelief at the events that have lead them to this moment. A knock at the door stops them, and the two turn to see Alex emerging.

“Am I interrupting something?” Alex asks, amused, and points to the way she finds them entwined. Kara smiles in relief at the support and love she sees in her sister’s face. “A few more people would like to see you, Kara.”

Cat stands up and reclines back to the seat by Kara’s bed, but keeps their hands locked together. Then Alex opens the door further, allowing Kara’s friends and family to walk in. It’s Carter who rushes to her first. He hugs her close and it’s enough to hurt in her current state, but it’s painful in all the right ways. Kara runs her free hand down his back in soothing motions, and whispers apologies and promises to be more careful.

If anyone in the rest of the group notices the hand Cat brings up to her mouth to stop her own sobs from coming out, or Kara’s hand intertwined with hers, they make no mention of it. If anyone notices the looks Kara and Cat share over Carter’s shoulder, and the obliviously mouthed ‘I love you’s,’ they only smile at each other in acknowledgment.

 

*********

 

Several weeks of recovery pass as Kara remains in Cat’s care, with her sister and foster mother visiting and making check-ups on a regular basis. She spends her mornings soaking in the sun, her evenings playing games with Carter, and nights wrapped up in Cat, the two of them stealing kisses and more as Kara’s health improves, trading promises of what’s to come.

After the week four mark, Kara’s powers return. Now able to fly Cat wherever she’d like, Kara makes plans for their official first date. She sets up a dinner for two at Cat’s private beach house, and mounts a telescope on the roof, intending to show Cat the star that continues to glow as cosmic proof of the love between them.

But first, the two of them have a quiet candlelit dinner on the terrace directly overlooking the sea. The lazy crashing of the dark waves into the sandy shore provides a stark contrast against the deep orange of the setting sun; a mesmerizing sight that gets thoroughly overlooked by the two women who simply cannot take their eyes off each other.

Kara holds Cat’s hand over the table as they eat, occasionally trading a shy smile over their meal. A sudden burst of wind blows Cat’s hair in her face and Kara reaches out with the hand that’s not holding Cat’s and gently brushes it off. When she feels the other woman’s cheek nuzzle into her palm in an uncharacteristically open display of affection, Kara fears her heart might actually burst. It’s already the best date she’s ever been on.

 

*********

 

Once they finish their meal Kara suggests a walk on the beach, because of course she would. Cat only nods and smiles at the thoughtfulness; a hallmark trait she’s come to associate with Kara way before she ever realized her own feelings for the girl.

Cat allows herself to be led for once as she trails after Kara, admiring the curve of her strong biceps, the small dip between her shoulder blades and the way her light flowery sundress flutters around her hips as she moves. And she still doesn’t let go of Kara’s hand. She can’t. Not after these past few months, not after the distance, the loneliness, the extremely close call and that agonizing terror of not knowing.

A tremor runs through her at the thought, the memory still so fresh in her mind. Kara doesn’t ask, only pulls her closer and into the circle of her warm, loving arms and Cat couldn’t be more grateful as the gnawing feeling of helplessness slowly but surely begins to dissipate. Those desperate hours over a month ago now that she’s spent, not knowing whether Kara was alive or dead, were without a doubt some of the worst of her entire life and Cat vowed never to feel that again if she can help it. And dammit, Cat Grant always keeps her promises, even to herself.

So she holds on tight to Kara, with absolutely no intention to let go. Not tonight, not tomorrow, maybe not ever.

 

*********

 

Sitting side by side on the roof near midnight, Kara watches as Cat stares down the barrel of the telescope in awe. The calm sea breeze ruffles Cat’s curls - now almost the same length as Kara’s - and Kara continues watching the woman she loves, listens to the steady and content beating of her heart.

Overwhelmed by the sight, Kara finds herself thinking that for her, she would realign every last star in the galaxy.  
  
All Cat has to do is ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, folks! Please share your thoughts. And if you've made it to this note, thank you for sticking with us.


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